1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to musical instruments and, more particularly, to a modification of the bell end of a flared bell instrument for improving the sound and playability of the instrument.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Musicians who play flared bell instruments such as clarinets, oboes, and trumpets must develop specialized and difficult techniques for overcoming the inherent shortcomings of these instruments. The high end of the musical scale generally includes the third harmonic tones of the instrument. In this frequency range, the sound output of the instrument is noticibly attenuated and uniform pitch control becomes exceedingly difficult to maintain. A technique known as false fingering together with substantially increased lip pressures are required to artificially compensate for the drop in sound output at the high end of the music scale. Without false fingering and other techniques difficult to master, tones created by the instrument crack and have a harsh sound. At the upper end of the scale of a flared bell instrument wolf tones (undesirable lower harmonic frequency tones) appear which also detract from the overall sound quality of the instrument.
While the prior art contains a substantial number of tone modification and volume attenuation devices, no one has produced a device for dealing with the above mentioned difficulties encountered by flared bell instruments.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,729,336 (France) discloses a key change accessory which is tightly sealed within the bell of a flared bell instrument such as a trumpet. The substantial bore change produced by the insertion of this device into the bell of the trumpet can cause a B flat trumpet to sound like a C trumpet. U.S. Pat. No. 51,363 (Stratton) teaches a related cylindrical insert for the bell end of a trumpet which restricts the air column in the bell and effectively mutes the sound output from the trumpet. Other muting devices for trumpets are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,307,259 (Kidder); 1,435,173 (Pappalardi); 1,714,513 (Magosy) and 3,842,706 l (Beversdorf).
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,350,409 (Humes) and 1,362,326 (Kidder) disclose sound modification devices which include a diaphragm for producing a reedy sound.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,558,797 (Wolford) discloses a recorder having a vibration box connected at the upper end of the bell section. The bell section also includes a straight cylindrical extension for providing proper operation of the vibration box. The vibration box and the cylindrical core of the bell function as a unit to create the desired vibratory output from the recorder.